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Etzebeth starts for Stormers in Wellington

Cape Town - There are three changes to the Stormers team to face the Hurricanes in Wellington on Saturday.

There are two changes to the starting forward pack and one in the backline for the encounter at Westpac Stadium, which kicks off at 08:35 SA time.

Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth, who was a doubt leading up to the match after the head knock he picked up against the Jaguares last weekend, starts.

He does, however, still have to undergo one last head assessment before the match and there is a chance that he could be excluded should that test not yield the desired results. 

Up front hooker Bongi Mbonambi and lock Chris van Zyl are back in the starting line-up, with Scarra Ntubeni and JD Schickerling among the replacements.

The only change to the backline sees Ruhan Nel start at outside centre, with Dan du Plessis set to make an impact in the second half from the replacements bench.

DHL Stormers Head Coach Robbie Fleck said that his team will be going all-out to make a positive start to their tour.

“Our first week in New Zealand has been a good one and we are hoping to build on the momentum we have created.

“We know this will be a big challenge on the road, but it is one we are excited about as a group,” he said.

Teams:

Hurricanes

15 Chase Tiatia, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Beauden Barrett (captain), 9 Richard Judd, 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Liam Mitchell, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Ben May, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Fraser Armstrong

Substitutes: 16 James o’Reilly, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen, 19 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20 Sam Henwood, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Fletcher Smith, 23 Danny Toala

Stormers

15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 SP Marais, 10 Jean-Luc du Plessis, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Chrisvan Zyl, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Corne Fourie, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Jaco Coetzee, 21 Justin Phillips, 22 Dan du Plessis, 23 Damian Willemse

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